Word of the day: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

The famous long word “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” became popular because of the 1964 movie Mary Poppins. Many people think the word was created for Mary Poppins, but it actually appeared in print more than 30 years before the movie, according to Merriam-Webster.

Meaning of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious means something that is extremely good, wonderful, or amazing, even if it does not have a real dictionary meaning.

The songwriters of Mary Poppins, Richard and Robert Sherman, said they made the word the same way kids make up silly big words. They started by mixing real words like “atrocious” and “precocious” to sound smart and funny. They added “super” and invented the sound “califragilistic,” which has no real meaning.

History of the words Supercalafajalistickespeealadojus

A similar word appeared earlier in a 1949 song called “Supercalafajalistickespeealadojus,” according to Merriam-Webster. The writers of the 1949 song sued the Sherman brothers for copyright, claiming the word was copied, according to court records. The court ruled in favor of the Sherman brothers because versions of the word existed before 1949.

The earliest known written version was printed in 1931 as “supercaliflawjalisticexpialidoshus”. This word appeared in an “A-muse-ings” column by Helen Herman in The Syracuse Daily Orange on March 10, 1931. Helen Herman said her made-up word meant something very wonderful and exciting. She explained that the word was long but saved time because it said a lot in just one word, according to Merriam-Webster.

How the word is used today

In Mary Poppins, the word is described as something to say when you have nothing else to say. Over the years, the word has been used to describe things that are extremely good or amazing. Writer Robert Hendrickson used the word to describe a huge beautiful bubble in a 1990 Smithsonian article. People later created shorter forms like “supercalifragilistic” and “supercalifragilistically”.

These shorter forms are rare but usually mean wonderful or amazing. Journalist David Harsanyi used “supercalifragilistic” to describe trade deals in a 2016 article, according to Times Record News. The word “supercalifragilistically” was also used to describe exciting travel places in a 1987 publication called Key. The movie claims saying the word loudly makes you sound smart, but reports says there is no proof of that.